7 Weeks Home

Wow, I can't believe we've been home for 7 weeks already. China seems like a distant memory, and it feels like Aiden has always been here. He is doing fantastic. We've been extremely busy as you can imagine, and I'm hoping this will be the first week since we've been home that we won't visit a doctor's office (keeping fingers and toes crossed). The eye doctor has been the most visited office as we discovered that Cambrie is far-sighted like her older brother, and now has glasses. Kyle finally convinced the doctor that he was mature enough for contacts, and has done really well with them. Aiden and Cambrie have had well visits, and all three have had random visits for other ailments. But to top it off, Aiden had his first visit to the ER. He gashed his head open on the kitchen counter while trying to dive out of Eddie's arms. I was at work, so my brother and sister-in-law accompanied them to get it glued back together. I think it took 10 years off Eddie's life though, as there was a lot of blood, and he doesn't handle that well. We've begun our referrals for Aiden at Vanderbilt. The first was to a urologist to schedule a circumcision. Our pediatrician recommended getting this done as soon as possible so that he hopefully won't remember it. The urologist was great to offer and piggy-back the procedure with whatever oral surgery will likely take place in the near future, so that Aiden will only have to be put under once. We see the plastic surgeon next week to check on his lip/palate, then the oral surgeon in December about his teeth. Bless his heart, they are in awful shape, so I'm confident we will be doing something about them soon. So, basically I'm considering renting an apartment in downtown Nashville to save on time and gas with all this commuting we are doing. Ha! Medical news aside, we have been busy with lots of fun activities. Cambrie and Kyle finished up their soccer seasons last weekend. Our neighborhood had a pumpkin carve event, complete with bobbing for apples, donut on a string contest, and lots of prizes. Aiden absolutely loved this. That evening our neighborhood had their trick-or-treating, so we were able to participate this year. Our tradition is to celebrate at my brother's house, and this year we got to do both. Aiden does not care for costumes in general, but fell in love with an Elmo costume in Target. So he carried it around like a stuffed animal for 2 weeks before Halloween, and then was content to have it on that night. I took the kids to the zoo on their fall break. Aiden wasn't too sure about some of the animals. He was ok as long as they didn't move or make noise, which worked well for the most part. He was cautious in the petting zoo, but eventually came around and brushed a few of the goats. We celebrated Cambrie's 6th birthday on the 24th with her first "friend" party at the bowling alley. This place also has bumper cars and video games, so it was a big hit. We also celebrated her "gotcha" day on Halloween. Can't believe it was 5 years ago that we were given that little 13 lb peanut. What a blessing she has been to us. We are gearing up for the holidays, as they will be here before we know it. Looking forward to having our whole family together this year, and celebrating our many blessings. That's all the news for now. I uploaded some pictures in a different post from the last few weeks.

Kelly

First Week

Well, we have been home a week tomorrow, but it feels like months since we were in China. Aiden is doing fantastic. He basically walks around like he owns the place, and we let him of course. We did have to make a trip to the doctor on Monday because he had been running a fever, and found out he had pneumonia. So we started antibiotics and he's been fever free since Monday. I had to go back to work on Monday and let me tell you it was brutal. I was light headed and nauseated most of the day. Tuesday was better, but I was so tired. Thankfully Eddie has had this whole week off, so he has been getting up with Aiden at night so I can rest up for work. Today I have felt mostly normal, so it only took about a week. Don't know when Aiden will get in a sleeping pattern. He goes to bed well, but is still waking up during the night. He loves being with his brother and sister. He cries when they get out of the car at school in the morning, and is so excited when we pick them up in the afternoon. He has enjoyed meeting all of Kyle's classmates this week at school. He is quite the celebrity there. I think Kyle and Cambrie were happy to be back at school with their friends. They have adjusted quickly from the trip. Ah to be a child again. It's good to be home again, but we really had a great trip. God just couldn't have blessed us any more. Our adoption experience this time around was so positive and awesome. A lot of that is attributed to how laid back Aiden is, but I think some of it is related to feeling more comfortable with the process, and being better prepared for "bumps" in the road. I'm so glad we did this as a family, and I cannot imagine this trip without our older kids. They were just so great on this trip, especially considering how much time we spent doing adoption related tasks where they had to just sit and be patient. I'm happy they had the opportunity to experience a different culture, and witness how hard life can be without all the "luxuries" we have here in the USA. It was quite an eye opening experience for Kyle especially, and I hope it has permanently touched his heart. Visiting Starfish was one of the highlights of my trip, and I'm truly in awe of what these people do on a daily basis for these children. We wanted to sneak a few of the babies home with us. And to think these are the "lucky" ones because they are receiving great care and love in this home. There are millions more in orphanges all over the world (not just in China) that don't even cry because they have learned that nobody will respond. It makes my struggles seem pretty insignificant. Well, enough of my soapbox speech. I'll try to get some photos on here soon. Thanks again for all of you who covered us in prayer throughout this journey. They were certainly felt by us, and we feel incredibly blessed.

Kelly

Final Post

Wanted to update quickly and let you know that we have a shortcut to our new website, so it's easier to find. Finishing up packing, and starting to feel like it's really happening.

aidenthomasrogers.com


Kelly

New Website for Travel

Since we have been told that blogger is blocked in China, and I'm not sure that the program I have will actually get around that block, I decided to set up an alternate site for our trip. You can access it at babyjellybeans.com then go to search for a website and type in Aiden Rogers. This was our lifeline for our first adoption, and I don't want to feel alienated from friends and family at home. We leave in about 40hrs, not that I'm counting.

Kelly

Insomnia and Packing Strategies

Well, only 6 more sleeps until we leave for China! At least I hope we sleep. Last night was restless for me, and for those of you who know me well, that is not typical. I have slept through many smoke and fire alarms in my life. I have begun the arduous task of packing, weighing, unpacking, and then packing again. Our in country flights only allow 44 lbs per traveler, and since I'm packing for 5 people, I'm having to be creative. Basically pack everything heavy in our carry-ons, and air in the checked luggage. That way we can get a complete workout hauling the carry-on luggage through at least 2 airports before we arrive in China. After all, we will be sitting for something like 19 hours straight, so we need to burn some calories, right?! I'm probably over-packing, as I'm known to do, but it's not clothes this time. I'm trying to pack as much "America-friendly" food as I can, since I have a 5yr old and 10yr old who will turn up their nose to anything that doesn't look familiar. This 40yr old has a tendancy to do the same, so EasyMac and Quaker oatmeal are my 2 new favorite foods. When we return, I will never eat them again. We are happy, anxious, excited, nervous, panicked, and stressed (not necessarily in that order). I admit to having a few of those "what in the world are we doing" moments in the last few days. Thankfully good friends and a patient husband have calmed those fears, and reminded me of that sweet little reward waiting for us in Xi'an. We've heard so many reports about his great personality and sweet spirit from those who have visited Starfish. We can't wait to discover these traits for ourselves. So for now, we ask that you pray for our sanity as we prepare for travel. Pray that we can focus our attention on the One who called us to this great adventure in the first place. Thanks!

Kelly

Travel Approval and Dates

Yeah!!!! We finally received our travel approval on Friday, and got concrete travel dates this morning. We will leave for China on Thursday, September 2nd and return home on Saturday, September 18th. I waited to post about the travel approval until we had the consulate date secured. I don't think I could have handled that disappointment, and I know I couldn't have typed it. Thankfully I won't have to do that. We are very excited and a little stressed about leaving in 2 & 1/2 weeks, but I would get on the plane tomorrow if I could. We covet your prayers for our safety in travel, as well as for Aiden's adjustment to his new family. We know God has carried us to this point, and he will see us through. We are thankful! This picture is from Taylor who found us on a yahoo group, and graciously sent us some pictures of our little guy from when she was at Starfish last month. Thanks Taylor!

Kelly

Article 5

Well, since my travel coordinator told me to expect our Article 5 around July 22nd, I thought I should send an e-mail to check on things. Well, I got a response today that our Article 5 was issued and all of the paperwork had been submitted to CCAA. Don't know the exact date this happened, but it means our travel approval should arrive sometime in the next few weeks. The next group leaves August 12th, and we know we won't be in that group. The group scheduled after that leaves Sept. 2nd, and we are praying we will be included with them. 4 weeks, that's what I'm talking about. I so like the idea that Aiden will hopefully be in our arms in 1 month. The kids started school today, and life should start to fall into a routine again. This should give me time to prepare for our trip. Here is a picture that another adoptive mom sent me of Aiden. She was at Starfish in mid-July taking supplies for the home there. He's looking more grown up each time I see a picture, but he'll always be my baby.

Kelly

Update

Another picture of our "big" boy. According to Amanda, this is a wheelchair that was bought with donations for a little boy at the home that can't walk. Apparently it has been a wonderful blessing for him, and he is enjoying his new independence. Aiden just felt like he needed to try it out as well. I can't believe how grown up Aiden is looking. Hate that we are missing this time, but we know God's plan is perfect for him and us. We are curently awaiting our "Article 5" (something new that I'm not sure I can explain with words). When our agency receives this, it should take 2-4 weeks for travel approval. Once we receive that, we are free to go get our boy. Unfortunately we must wait for a US Consulate appt. and for the next travel group. Could be fast (1 week) or up to a month to travel. We are preparing for school to start in 2 weeks. Kyle will be in 5th grade and Cambrie will start kindergarten. This should help the time to pass a little more quickly since we will be busy with school. I've already been praying for this new transition in our lives, as well as his. I'm praying that he will bond quickly with his brother and sister. I hope the same for his parents, but it is more important to me that they have that special bond right away. They are so excited, and have waited for almost a year to meet this guy. Eddie and I have been down this road before, and experienced the rejection (with Cambrie), so I think we can handle it, and are prepared for that possibility. Obviously Aiden will have to grieve his loss of everthing that he has known, but we pray that this is short lived, and we are able to comfort him through that time. So that is where we stand for now. Hope to post again soon with some news.

Kelly

Swim Fun

Wanted to post a picture Amanda put on her Starfish site of our happy boy. Makes the waiting so much harder. Enjoy!

RA!!!!!!

We are so excited to share that we received our RA today. Well actually it is at our agency, but will be in our hands on Wednesday. We have been not so patiently waiting for 3 months now, but trying to remain positive. It all feels real now that we have that approval, and we should be traveling late August/early September. Seems pretty close and yet not soon enough for us to hold our Aiden. We are now allowed to share pictures of him online, so prepare yourselves to fall in love. We may be biased but we think he's a pretty handsome dude. Now we wait for our final approval (TA) which should arrive in about 2 months. Thanks for continuing to cover us in prayer, and we ask for continued prayers for our travel and transition to a family of 5.

Kelly

Happy Birthday!!!

Today Aiden turns 2 years old. How we wish we could be with him to celebrate. I hate that we have missed 2 birthdays already, but rest in the fact that we will be there for all of the rest to come. We celebrated my nephew's birthday last night, and I made Aiden a small cake to honor him as well. Tonight we will light the candles, sing "Happy Birthday", and celebrate just as we would if he were here with us. It's comforting to know that he will have a celebration with his nannies and friends in China. I know Amanda will take pictures and send them to me. Hopefully we will receive our RA in the next few days, and I will finally be able to share those photos on this blog. Happy Birthday Aiden Thomas! We pray your day is filled with joy!

-Kelly

Log In Date

Well, finally today we received our LID, after a month of anxious waiting. Turns out we have been logged in since March 8th, but China only sends confirmations of the dates once a month. So we are happy to mark another milestone off the list of our journey. Only about 2000 more to go, but I'm trying to be patient.

Kelly

Update

I was waiting to update when we received our log in date (LID), but was told by our family coordinator that it may be another week or two before we hear something. I did receive an e-mail from Amanda who runs the foster home where Aiden lives. She discovered that he has 3 teeth growing out of his palate (instead of the gum line). She said he had been really fussy lately, and now she knows why. At first I was so sad about this news because I can't be there to comfort him, and get him the medical help he needs. Then I realized that it's not my place to be in control of this. God is with Aiden now, just like He was from the beginning of his life. He has protected him all along the way without any imput from me. Doesn't mean I won't still worry, as that is a momma's job, but I have to trust His plan. It's been perfect up until this point, and will continue to prove perfect until completion. Just a bump in the road, but thankfully we are still on the road moving forward. I'm thankful that Amanda is on top of the situation, and has given us updates so we can plan for his care when we return home. I plan to talk to Cambrie's pediatric dentist in a few weeks when I take her in to get his opinion. Eddie and I are thankful for your prayers for Aiden, and we will keep you updated on how God continues to bless our family with the addition of this special little boy.

Kelly

Officially DTC

Well, today we received the e-mail from America World that our dossier is on it's way to China. What a relief!!!! Once it arrives in China, it will be translated, and then reviewed. Then they will review Aiden's file with our file and approve us to adopt him. Sounds simple right? It will probably take about 2-3 months. We will then get what's called a RA (referral approval). We have already been pre-approved to adopt him, but that really just means that he is on hold for us until they reveiew our files. After we receive this approval, we will file our next application with USCIS (immigration) indicating the specific child we are adopting. More paperwork, but I'm trying not to worry about that until the time arrives, since I can't do anything about it now. So, we would appreciate your prayers as our paperwork travels thousands of miles over the next few days, and we begin the next period of waiting. Pray for a speedy RA, so we can go bring our boy home.

Kelly

DTC-next Friday

We heard from our family coordinator yesterday that our dossier should go to China next Friday. They only send them once a week, and because of Chinese New Year, the consolate was closed this week, and they couldn't get the authentication completed. They didn't even send a batch the Friday before because all of the Chinese offices were closed. Soooo we will wait another week, knowing that His timing is never wrong. Unfortunately we are human, and we want things NOW. So we continue learning this hard lesson of patience, but with thankful hearts that our Aiden is well cared for and loved while we wait. We have heard from 2 volunteers that loved on our boy over the last 1&1/2 yrs. They both raised money to fund his surgery, and we will always be grateful for their servant hearts. Rachel is actually the one who visited the orphanage and found him there. She told Amanda that he was very malnourished, and asked her to bring him to the home. She was able to see his first smile, as well as witness him crawling for the first time. She sent us photos of those momentous occasions. We will forever treasure them. Just another blessing along this journey, and we are thankful.

Kelly

Pre-approval!!!

We received our PA (pre-approval)from China today. Very fast, only 5 days after EA (electronic acceptance). We were told it could take 2-6 weeks. I'm thankful God is still showing us immeasurably more than we expected. Hope that trend continues, but we know His timing is perfect. Next up is DTC (dossier to China), hopefully late next week.

Kelly

Out of our hands

Well, the dossier is on its way to our agency for authentication, and then on it's way to China. We finished our copies at Kinkos tonight at 7pm. Glad FedEx is right there in the same building. I was nervous handing over all this paperwork I had spent so much time and money preparing. I wanted to tell the guy behind the counter that he was holding my child's future in his hands, and to be gentle with it. I decided at the last minute that by the looks of things, he probably couldn't have cared less. But I digress. Anyway, the point is that it is completely out of our hands and our control at this point. We must begin the dreaded wait for China to approve us to adopt Aiden, and we pray that the process will go quickly. Next up on the list is pre-approval that will hopefully arrive in the next week or two. We will keep you updated.

Immeasurably More

I thought it only appropriate for my first post to introduce and explain the title and purpose of this new blog. I'm generally not one to write down thoughts or feelings for myself, much less for others to read. However I have been inspired to step out of my comfort zone by the love of a little boy. Although I have never laid eyes on his precious face, or physically touched his sweet hand, I am completely in love with this child. I was in love with him well before I knew his name, age, or physical characteristics. I fell in love the night I told my husband that I wanted to go back to China, after years of being convicted that our family was complete and perfect. It was his fault for asking me if I ever secretly wished to return to China and add to our family. I really had not considered the idea seriously, but his question led my heart right where God wanted it to go. From that moment, I knew our family was not complete, and somewhere in China was the missing piece of the Rogers' family. Eddie did not feel the same right away, and I encouraged him to pray and seek out his feelings on the subject. It took about 2 weeks, and upon arriving home after work one night, I found a rose on my pillow with a note that said "let's go to China". We have never looked back. I had already requested the application from our agency, of course, secretly hoping he would come around. After filling out the application, and selecting girl as the obvious choice from China, I was prepared to mail it the agency and get the ball rolling. I dropped my daughter Cambrie off at pre-school that morning and met a very adorable classmate of hers named Max. You see, Max was adopted from Korea, and all of a sudden my eyes were opened to the possiblity of another son. In the parking lot of the post office, I quickly changed our application to "boy or girl", with a prayer that acknowledged God already knew who he/she was, and that I would trust His plan for our family. Although paperwork was somewhat easier this time around, I had less free time to complete it than when we adopted Cambrie. We did get everything completed in December, and then waited on USCIS (immigration). On January 21, in my son's elementary school gym at his basketball practice, I received a call from Melissa at our agency. I knew before she said anything that we were parents again. She told me that she had a referral for us to consider, and that we had less than 48 hours to talk to a doctor and make a decision. "It's a little boy who will turn 2 in May. He has a repaired cleft lip, and also a ceft palate. The paperwork is unclear as to whether or not it has been repaired. So you need to consider that he will likely require at least one surgery and speech therapy when you return. His file will not be on this shared referral list long, so if you want me to lock him, I need to know now." I didn't even have to think about it. This was our son. Whatever he needed, we would see to it that he got. Less than 24 hours later we had seen the pediatrician, been advised on his possible future therapy, and accepted his referral with thankful hearts to God who had given us the most amazing gift of being his parents. Which brings me to the title of our blog. Immeasurably More! Beyond what we can ask or imagine! I never truly apprecitated this scripture until the few days following our referral call. We have treasured friends who we met on our first trip to China to get our sweet Cambrie. They were adopting their first daughter Lucy. We've kept in touch over the last 4 years, and we recently followed their journey to bring their second daughter Rita home. When we received our referral, we discovered that our son was in Xi'an, the same city as Rita. Teresa immediatly had wondered if our son was in the same foster home as Rita because this home arranges surgeries for orphans in need. I checked their website and looked at the photos of all the sweet babies. None seemed to be our son, but really not a surprise with the millions of orphans in China, what are the chances?!. Shouldn't have limited God. As I scrolled down the blog of the woman who runs the home, I saw one of our son's referral pictures. I screamed at Eddie to come see the computer. We couldn't believe that we found him. I immediately let Teresa know he was there. She had already contacted the director, Amanda about him, and received updated pictures of him from her. Amanda also let us know that he just recently had his palate surgery, and that he was happy and healthy. Now, if you know anything about Chinese adoptions, most parents are fortunate to receive 2-3 photos of your child, and little to no history of his/her life. We are blessed to have information on him since he came to the foster home at 3 months. Amanda is happy to send updated photos of him and even Skype with us. Of course the greatest blessing is the peace of mind we have knowing he is being cared for, nurtured, and loved on a daily basis. Also on this same day we received our approval from USCIS, only 6 days after our fingerprint appointment. Immeasurably more than all we could have asked or imagined! Sorry for the long blog, but I figured background was necessary for understanding our journey to bring home Aiden Thomas Rogers. We can't wait to hold you sweet boy.

Kelly